The Glitch
by TheBookConqueror
Summary: She claims she doesn't want this life… The life of a 'hero'… But every time she tried to leave it behind her she found herself back where she started. This time around she's for sure done…or will she dig herself deeper into her vigilante lifestyle? (Warning: LANGUAGE ;) )
1. Chapter 1

**Rewriting a previous fic, hopefully this goes a bit smoother ^^;. Please Read, Review, and Enjoy!**

* * *

The annoying marimba ringtone blared, echoing throughout the barren studio apartment. Nothing much was there besides a bed, scattered fitness equipment, random pieces of clothing strewn about the room, and moldy plates and mugs left on nearly every surface. A window to the fire escape was left open from when she reentered the room last night. The cold city air pushed through the room as the body on the bed cocooned itself into a bundle of thick blankets, the air also invited in unsettling smells from the streets into the room, they were smells she was used to by now.

She held out for as long as she could in ignoring the irritating alarm from her cellphone (which wasn't very long). With a deep sigh she sat up in her bed, her hair was a tangled mess; her face was greasy and caked in makeup that she was too lazy to take off before going to bed. She reached over to her small bedside table, picked up her cell phone and turned off the alarm then immediately turning on a news station. With reports rambling about the latest basketball game and celebrity scandal, it took all of her self-control to not go straight back to bed, but sucked in a deep breath of cold city air and rolled off her bed, landing on her hands and feet on the floor.

 _"In other news, it has been announced the United Nations are putting in a plan of action against the Avengers…"_

She began doing pushups as she listened to the news report in the background. Switching from one handed pushups to sit-ups and crunches and worked her tiredness out of her body.

 _"…The Sokovia Accords is a topic of conversation amongst the leaders of the world, though, will the world go through with it?"_

With a sore growl, Marley got up and grabbed her pack of cigarettes from her bedside table and walked toward her opened window. She brought a cig to her lips and lit it with her father's lighter, and as if she were finally waking up, took a long drag of the addicting drug.

 _"I think the Avengers should just be left alone_." One commentator spoke up. _"They're just doing their job. Of course there will be some casualties!"_

Marley huffed and scrunched up her nose as breathed in her smoke. _Casualties_ , she scoffed in disgust in her head. _So many casualties._ She glanced at a picture sitting on her dresser. A group of children, happy and goofy, Marley kneeling next to them with a grin on her face…Sokovian children Marley had visited in a hospital there while her father was doing a tour with his SEAL team and she was volunteering at a wildlife conservation habitat for a month. Visiting the hospital that day was the idea of one of her coworkers at the habitat and teaching the people there about the wildlife in the area. Marley and a few others agreed to go, but she told them how she needed to leave early to meet with her father.

That's why she was the only survivor when Ultron attacked the city. She had left the hospital an hour before all hell broke loose and was with her father on his military base miles away from the city.

But she was there for it all.

She was there when her father and his team went in as back up.

She was there when she took her father's motorcycle back to the city when she saw it fall from the sky.

She was there for weeks to help clean up the city.

She was there when they found the bodies of her friends in the debris.

She was there when one of her father's teammates told her that her father died holding off Ultron's Sentries from attacking a group of civilians.

And she was there when that same person sent her home with her father's dog tags and only a picture of that day to remember it all.

Marley quickly shook herself out of those thoughts and tossed her cigarette away.

 _"There has been no word yet from any Avengers representative with their thoughts on the matter-_ " Marley got up to switch off the news report when the commentator was cut off with breaking news.

 _"New hero or future public menace?"_

Marley narrowed her eyes and stared at her phone as security camera footage was played.

 _"Popular dance club, Orchid, was the center of a gang war last night, but, was put to a quick stop by, what looks like, a bartender working that night! This worker put the fight to stop before anything drastic happened and only six people mildly injured from fleeing…"_ Marley frowned. _"What do you guys think? Does New York have a new hero?"_

 _"I think this bartender should stick to mixing drinks, we have enough heroes in this city."_

 _"Why? They saved so many people from being killed!"_

 _"Leave the saving to the police."_

Marley scowled and turned off the news cast and tossed her phone back onto her bed, not before blasting her playlist, as she went to her bathroom to freshen up.

'Blame it on the Boogie' by The Jacksons, her father's favorite song, roared through her apartment. She could remember when she was younger and, her father was in the Navy, lived on base with him and they would dance and laugh and sing to this song all the time. Those were happier times.

Marley smirked at the memories and began humming along to the song as she washed her face and fixed her hair.

"Don't blame it on the sunshine!" Marley murmured and swiveled around in her socks on the hard wood floor. "Don't blame it on the moonlight…don't blame it on the good times…blame it on the boogie!"

She returned to her room and opened up her laptop, opening a new email and attaching several pictures of the fight that happened in Orchid the night before and CC'd her coworkers for their news app: Glitch, and added 'Orchid wilted last night, here's some exclusives'. And sent the email.

 _Knock knock._

The faint sound of knocking on her door forced Marley to stop her cheer up session to turn down her music and answer the door.

"Mr. O'Connell, for the last time, I don't have your dog-" she quickly cut herself off once she realized the young woman standing before her was definitely not the confused eighty year old man that lived a floor below her. It was her neighbor May Parker. "Oh, May, hey. Sorry, was the music too loud?"

May waved her hand at Marley, "No, don't worry about it." She insisted. "I actually need to ask you a quick favor."

"Uh, sure," Marley said. She and May had developed a nice friendship since the death of her husband. With her nephew to take care of, Marley helped comfort her and keep an eye on Peter once in awhile. "What's up?"

"I have to work late tonight, and Peter is grounded-"  
"Peter? Grounded?" Marley laughed at the thought, then quickly remembered how smart the kid actually was. "...What'd he do?"

May sighed deeply, irritation in her eyes, "He fried the microwave."

"He…He _fried_ the microwave? What does that even mean?"

May shook her head in defeat, "I don't even know and I _saw_ it happen. Anyways, can you just make sure he doesn't leave the building?"

Marley casually saluted her and smirked, "Sure thing, ma'am."

May thanked Marley repeatedly as she retreated down the hallway and Marley closed her door behind her.

"OW!"

Narrowing her eyes curiously, Marley wandered back into her room where the sound originated. Before poking her head out the window, she grabbed another cigarette and lit it in her mouth. She crawled out her window to the fire escape and met the panicked and breathless face of Peter, May's nephew, dangling from his balcony and the fire escape.

"I-uh, I can explain." He panted as his glasses slid down his nose.

"What the shit, Peter?" Marley burst at him. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"I-I-I-" Marley huffed and grabbed the scrawny high school nerd by the collar of his shirt and lifted him back over to his balcony effortlessly. "T-Thanks."

"Mm." she replied and removed the cigarette from her lips. "Now, please entertain me, with explaining what the _fuck_ you were trying to do, half pint?"

Peter's cheeks turned a shade of pink in embarrassment, "I-I was trying to jump to the fire escape…and sorta, tripped. PLEASE DON'T TELL AUNT MAY!"

Marley didn't quite care for telling Aunt May about this sad attempt at escaping, but more about the fact the kid could have accidentally killed himself with his foolishness.

"Relax, string bean, I'm no snitch." She crushed her cig into the metal railing. "But, for your own wellbeing, _stay on your own balcony_ , ok? For the love of God you could have died. "

Peter looked down at his feet, ashamed. Marley took a seat on the steps of the fire escape and nodded to Peter's backpack, "Where were you planning on running off to?"

The scrawny kid didn't meet her gaze and remained silent. Marley shrugged, "Fine, don't tell me. But you're not leaving either way, your aunt made me your prison guard."

Peter looked at her with wide terrified eyes. Marley got up and made her way back into her room.

" _OsCorp Industries!_ "

Marley paused and glanced back at the red-faced high schooler with a raised eyebrow.

"I want to go to OsCorp Industries." Peter admitted. "They're giving a VIP tour today and me and a friend want to go but then I got grounded but this is, like, a once in a life time opportunity-"

"Then go."

Peter's eyes went wide behind his glances in surprise at Marley's response.

"W-What?"  
Marley looked at the clock on her wall, "May will be gone til six o'clock." She climbed back onto the fire escape and casually jumped over to the Parker's balcony (which left Peter in awe). "That means you have five hours." She crawled into his bedroom, which Peter reacted to by his face going a deeper shade of red, "Take the subway, it'll get you there and back quicker than a bus. I'm only covering you for those five hours; if you're not back here at exactly 5:30 then I'm no longer your alibi. Got it?"

"I-I got it," Peter was taken back a bit. "But why are you doing this for me?"

"I was your age once upon a time," she winked and walked into the living room. "And I'm in an okay mood today, so why not? Just don't get yourself killed."

A smile grew on Peter's face, "Thank you! B-But how do I get down the fire escape?"

Marley frowned at him and threw her hands toward the front door dramatically, "Use the _fucking door, Peter!_ Jesus, I don't want your blood on my hands because you _tripped_ on a pebble."

Peter blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, "R-Right."

"Also," Marley wandered into the kitchen area, "How do you _fry_ a microwave?"


	2. Chapter 2

Marley, having dosed off on the Parker's couch, wasn't aware of the time. That is, until she heard the sound of keys in the door. She woke from her slumber, eyes wide; she sat up and spotted the clock on the wall.

 _6:30_ pm.

She jumped up from the couch and sprinted to Peter's room.

The light was on, the window was open, and _he wasn't there_.

"Shit, Peter." She hissed under her breath, turned off the light and closed the door before returning to the living room in time to see May enter. "May! Hey!" she grinned as casually as possible. "How was work?"

"Draining as usual," May sighed and dropped her bag on the counter top. "Where's Peter?"

"Asleep." Marley replied and pointed to the closed bedroom door. "After a rather rousing game of Scrabble the lil guy just tuckered himself out, you know how kids are."  
May raised an eyebrow at her, "He's sixteen."

Marley's eyes widened in honest surprise, "He _is?_ Wow, he's really scrawny."

May started walking toward Peter's bedroom, but Marley cut her off, "Why don't we crack open a bottle of wine and chat, huh? Just got a new shipment in at work and snatched a bottle, come on, sit and I'll go grab it."

"I just want to check on Peter real quick."

"Oh, he's fine, trust me."

"Marley, what's gotten into you?"

"Ok, I might have had a few glasses of wine already-"

" _Move_ , Marley!" May pushed passed the unusually fit 21 year old and pushed open Peter's bedroom door. Marley cursed under her breath and prepared her explanation as she turned to face May.

"Peter?" May turned the light switch on.

"Ok, May, listen I-"  
"Oh, hi Aunt May."

Marley nearly shoved May out of the way when she heard the groggy nerds voice in the room. Her mouth gaped in disbelief and confusion as Peter turned under his covers to face them, he looked like he had been fast asleep.

 _The little shit_. Marley thought to herself.

"Is something wrong?" he squinted at the bright light in his room.

"Nothing's wrong, kiddo," May whispered and smiled sweetly. "Go back to sleep." She turned the light off and closed the door behind her.

When May looked at Marley she still had a somewhat bewildered expression on her face but pulled off a convincing smile.

"See? Sleeping." She said.

"Mhm." May eyed her suspiciously and walked back into the kitchen. Marley bent over and let out a quiet sigh of relief, then restored her composure and followed after May.

"So, how about that drink?" Marley offered again.

"Another night," May yawned and grabbed a glass for water. "I'm beat. Thank you for watching Peter, Marley."

"Any time, May," she replied with a kind smile. "Have a good night."

Marley pulled open the front door and waved to May, but she didn't leave without staring hard for a long moment at Peter's bedroom door.

 _How did he do that?_ She thought warily and closed the door and entered her own apartment. She shook off the thought and returned to her computer, checking emails, Twitter, news sites, looking for more information for Glitch. A cool breeze swept through the window, causing Marley to shiver. She looked over her shoulder at the window. As she got up and grabbed a sweater to pull over her she walked to the window to close. But she hesitated.

Her grip on the window, she bit the inside of her cheek in thought.

 _Do I go harass Peter?_ She thought then shook her head. _Let it go, let it go… he was just late that's it._ She slammed the window shut but couldn't help but feel like something was wrong.

The sudden rumble of her tummy pulled Marley out of her thoughts.

"Shit," she muttered. "I forgot to eat today…"

Marley grabbed her wallet, pulled on a pair of her tennis shoes, and locked up her apartment before leaving to go to the convenient store across the street. She plugged her earbuds in and began scrolling through Glitch to see what had been posted. Her pictures and exclusive encounter of the events at Orchid were on the front page and had already made a million views, of course she was left anonymous and her friend wrote the article. She was the only person that knew of Marley's infrequent heroic escapades. With Marley's background, she wasn't particularly worried for her whenever she was in danger.

She quit out of the app and 'Bennie and the Jets' by Elton John began playing. She bobbed her head along as she walked down the dark streets with her hands in her pockets.

A hand grasped her arm and pulled her into an alley. She let out a surprised gasp and instinctively broke out of the attacker's grasp. It was a scruffy looking man in a baggy coat and hat hanging low on his face so she couldn't get a good look at him, but she could definitely smell alcohol on his breath. She kept her earbuds in and the song playing to help her stay calm…she didn't want to hurt the guy.

"Gimme your purse." he growled.

"Hmm, I would be I don't have one," she shrugged. "Sorry."

As she turned to leave the man grabbed her again.

"Ok, I'm getting real sick of your handsy-ness, bud," she snarled and grabbed his middle finger, pulling it backwards. He cried out in pain, and if it wasn't for the moonlight Marley might not have caught a glimpse of the blade he pulled out of his sleeve. She released his finger and swerved just out of reach of the blade, then seized his wrist holding the blade and pinched the nerve in his forearm, instantly releasing the blade from his hand. Marley kicked out his knees from under him and he fell to the ground.

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood." Marley puffed and straightened out her sweater. "You try anything else, you won't be so lucky."

He stayed on the ground as she left the scene looking casual as ever, like she didn't just take down a large drunk man just then. She entered the convenient store, having finally got her breathing under control and went in search for nourishment. This would be defined as 'coffee and protein' in Marley's dictionary.

With those two things in hand Marley stood in line at the check out counter.

"Four dollars even is your total." The young blonde cashier girl sighed in an utterly bored tone. The man was distant, zoned out in a slightly concerning way. Marley studied his face as she stood next to him in line for the register and couldn't help but feel like she knew him.

"Dude?" The cashier popped the bubble she made with her gum and rolled her eyes. "You gonna pay for your stuff or not?"

The man stared at the cashier like she was an alien from another planet. He was really confused and probably half asleep. Marley grabbed the ten dollar bill from her pocket and placed it on the counter in front of him.

"I'll pay for his stuff and mine." She said and eyed the man sympathetically. She let the cashier scan her stuff and after, ushered the confused and tired man out of the convenient store to a nearby bench.

"Thanks." He barely managed to utter under his breath.

"Could I call someone for you?" Marley asked the strangely familiar man. "Friend or family?" She took out her phone ready to dial a number.

The disheveled man, breaking from his train of thought, glanced at the phone and let out a distinct, "Tsk."

Marley narrowed her eyes at him.

"What?"

"An Apple phone." He shook his head in amusement. "I'm almost offended."

Marley raised an eyebrow at the man and opened her mouth ready to retort his inconsiderate attitude. Until she realized whom the unkempt and confused man was.

"Tony Stark?" She whispered in surprise. It took all of her being not to throttle the billionaire right then and there. He was one of the reasons why should couldn't sleep at night. Why she was alone in this world. He was only part of the reason…and violence wasn't going to bring her father and friends back. Though it would feel really fucking good to do so.

"Mmph..." Tony responded with a small nod of acknowledgement.

Marley mouth gaped and her eyes widened like she was about to scream at the tops of her lungs. Tony cringed, bracing for the freak out.

"Dude, you owe me four bucks." Marley's overreaction composure reverted back to her unimpressed nature. She rested her arm on the top of the bench and stared hard at the genius. "And what gives with this whole: depressed, empty eyed, Mark Zuckerberg from the Social Network vibe that I'm getting?"

Tony cringed and sighed, "Ew, ok, don't compare me to him, of all people. And it's nothing... Genius superhero stuff... I don't need explain myself to you."

"I paid for your sad looking convenient store bag of chips and soda," Marley said as she sipped her coffee. "And everyone knows it's the Hostess donuts and mainstream energy drinks that are the happiest of convenient store snacks."

"You have coffee and a protein bar."

"Today has been pretty rough." She shrugged. "So spill, money bags."

Tony narrowed his eyes at her skeptically then ran a hand over his tired face.

"Uhh, ok, let's see, PTSD, anxiety, the fear of the weight of the world collapsing on my shoulders, losing the love of my life, and killing hundreds of people when you're trying to protect them." He listed off his problems and Marley listened unaffected by his statements. "And that's just the top five, do you want me to go on?"

Marley shrugged and took another sip of her coffee, "Go for it if you want to get it off your chest." She pulled a cigarette from her pocket and brought it to her lips as she lit it. "As long as you feel better afterwards."

"As long as I feel better?" Tony gawked at her as if she were crazy. "What are you, a therapist?"

"Nope," Marley breathed out a puff of smoke and sighed. "Just someone that can relate to what you've been through."

Tony's face fell. He glanced down at his hands and sat back in the bench silently. The mood shifted to a rather depressing state as a long pause of silence between the duo hung in the air. After what felt like several minutes Tony spoke up again.

"Who did you lose?" it sounded like he dreaded the question but he needed to know. He _needed_ to know whose lives were lost at his hands.

With another puff of smoke escaping her lips Marley replied, "Too many." Her gaze had been trained on a closed shop window across the street for no particular reason…except the fact that if she so much as glanced at Tony she knew she might hit him. "And don't apologize," she added. "I know you'd mean it…but it doesn't make up for anything."

Tony stared at her again, "I need to do something. I don't know what to do, but I feel like I need to do something."

"You crave forgiveness for something that was out of your control." Marley sighed and closed her eyes, tilting her head toward the sky. "You're never going to feel better, it will haunt you for the rest of your life. The only thing you can do is try doing better for the world, ok? That's what you can do for me, Stark. Do good, for all of us."

"…But _how_?"

"Goddamit!" Marley sat up and gripped Tony by the hood of his sweatshirt and stared him dead in the eye. "Do I look like a fucking guidebook? Whatever you think _good_ is, do it."

"Jesus," Tony raised his hands in surrender. "Ok, alright." Once Marley released him he stood up with his snacks in hand.

"Thank you-" Those words were strangers to Tony; he was surprised he even said them himself. "I never got your name."

"And you'll never get it." Marley brought the cigarette back to her mouth.

Tony nodded and pursed his lips in a straight line, "Fair enough." He started walking down the sidewalk back to where he came from.

"Don't think you get out of not paying me either, Stark!" Marley shouted after him. "I expect to see those four dollars one day!"


	3. Chapter 3

**_Please Read &Review, Fav&Follow, and Enjoy! :)_**

* * *

 ** _The night before..._**

 _Colorful flashing lights and deafening music from the dance floor echoed throughout the exotic club as the stoic bartender cleaned dirty glasses. The music and the people tuned out of her mind as she rhythmically rubbed the cloth along the tall glass, completely lost in her own thoughts._

 _"Hey, toots!"_

 _"Hm?" Marley, looking up from the glass, noticed the muscular and thoroughly groomed man hunched over the bar. He was obviously drunk, close to the point where Marley would have to cut him off and call an Uber._

 _"Finally," he shouted over the music. "I want a drink-…a drink. Any drink. Something strong."_

 _"Sure." Marley grabbed a clean glass, grabbed a tap and poured a clear liquid an inch away from the rim. "Here, on the house."_

 _A dirty grin spread across her drunken face as he took the glass and began to down it, that is, until he realized what it was. He spat the drink all over the counter top, Marley, who managed to remain unaffected by his behavior, just blinked as she waited for him to calm down._

 _"What the f-f-fuck are you trying to pull?" the drunkard roared and smashed the glass on the floor. "That's water! I s-said s-s-something strong!"_

 _"Hun, water is all you're getting for the rest of the night." She replied. "You've reached your limit."_

 _"Fucking bitch!" he shouted and leaned over the bar to grab a bottle._

 _Marley, unhesitant, grabbed the metal stirring rod from the sink and whipped the man over the hand with it. He howled in pain and recoiled._

 _"Hey!" Marley snapped at him. "The bar is here for a reason. You stay on your side and if you such much as touch my bottles I'll have you thrown out on your ass."_

 _"You gonna call your fucking bouncer, bitch?" he growled as he nursed his hand._

 _Marley placed her palms firmly on the counter top and leaned toward the drunk, "No, I'll gladly do it myself."_

 _"This boy bothering you, cher?"_

 _Marley looked over the drunk's shoulder to find her boss and his bodyguards standing intimidatingly close to the man harassing her. The handsome bar owner dressed in a fitting suit, stylish glasses, and light scruff along his jaw, he was composed but she could see in the slight twitch in his eye that he was furious._

 _"Just a customer that has reached his limit, boss. I was going to call him an Uber home, boss." Marley hooked her thumb over to the phone jack on the wall behind the bar._

 _"Who the fuck do you think you are-" Marley openly face palmed as the customer rushed to punch Mr. Gemini, her boss. In a blink of an eye the bodyguards were on him and dragging him out to the alley. It left an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, thinking about what they were going to do to him out there, but she tried her best to get him out without any trouble._

 _"What's the house specialty tonight, my knight?" Mr. Gemini grinned and took a seat at the bar. Marley raised an eyebrow and a corner of her lip twitched up in amusement. Mr. Gemini was one of the most feared gang leaders in this part of the city; he was suave and deadly, the most frightening combination. While everyone feared the man at first sight, Marley didn't react the same way. During her job interview he asked her to make his favorite drink Marley made something completely different without saying anything. When he demanded what it was she told him 'Your new favorite drink'. And she was hired on the spot. Marley could tell he liked how unfiltered she was around him._

 _Ignoring his question, she reached for a phone; "I'll call back up security for you."_

 _"Unnecessary, cher," he winked as he took the phone from her hand. "You're more than qualified to protect me, my knight in shining armor."_

 _Marley sighed and blushed a little at his nickname, she found it quite embarrassing._

 _"Now, what was the specialty tonight?"_

 _"I'll send it to your VIP seating-"_

 _"_ _ **Cher**_ _~"_

 _Marley frowned and grabbed a fresh bottle of vodka from the freezer, "Crimson Heart."_

 _"Sounds delightful." He purred and rested his chin in his hand as he watched her work on the drink; he noticed her grab two glasses for drinks. "Two glasses?"_

 _"How can I let a handsome man like yourself drink alone?" she smirked and winked at him in return. A large grin spread across his face._

 _"My knight in shining armor." He teased._

 _Marley shook her head and poured the finished drink, handing him a glass. He examined the concoction and looked her confused._

 _"This is Crimson Heart?"_

 _"Nope." She replied bluntly and took a swig, then grinned smugly at him._

 _He burst into a fit of laughter, "You're a good girl, cher. Very good. Amazing. What is it going to take for you to marry me?"_

 _"Boss, you haven't even given me a chance to propose." She joked then turned away from him to put her empty glass back in the sink._

 _She heard him make a distinct 'tsk' sound and looked over her shoulder at him as he said, "Call me, Gem, cher. Honestly, I'd allow you to call me anything you wanted," he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "I'd prefer you call me Gem."_

 _"Alright," Marley leaned over the bar to meet his face in the middle. "Only if you stop calling me your knight in shining armor."_

 _"That's never going to happen." He murmured, she could see the sudden excitement in his eyes at her closeness._

 _"Then, another drink…boss?" she beamed at him as his smug grin faltered as she grabbed his glass instead of leaning in further. She snickered and began pouring another glass._

 _"It's not nice to tease, cher." He pouted._

 _"If you don't want a tease, then maybe you should go visit one of your little groupies in VIP," she challenged him playfully. "I spotted a black mini slink her way back there. I'm sure she won't be a tease."_

 _Mr. Gemini grasped Marley's hand as she placed his drink back in front of him. He quickly brought her hand to his lip, his eyes never leaving hers._

 _"I only have eyes for you, cher."_

 _Something inside Marley shifted, she didn't see the usual mirth in his eyes that is normally there when they banter. This was banter wasn't it? She thought to herself in confusion over what she was feeling and how to respond to her boss… it was her_ _ **boss**_ _for Christ's sake._

 _Marley opened to reply, but when she did she noticed a person with a white bandana over their lower face holding a gun pointed at Mr. Gemini from several feet away._

 _It was as if time had slowed down in that moment. Her grip tightened over a tall wine bottle and just as the person pulled the trigger she flung the bottle at the bullet. The wine bottle shattered and the bullet buried itself in the wall behind Marley. Mr. Gemini whirled around, pulling a gun from his suit jacket, fired two shots into the attacker. The guests gathered on the floor began screaming from the premises, but Marley could make out the few guests that stayed behind. They were wearing masks as well._

 _Marley lept over the counter and stood in front of Mr. Gemini, taking his gun from him and ignoring his protests._

 _"I was hired under the circumstances to protect you if you ever come in danger, boss," Marley said as she held the gun steadily in her grasp. "And I_ _ **told you**_ _to let me call for back up."_

 _"I was trying to be romantic, cher," Mr. Gemini sighed. "Can you blame me for wanting a little alone time?"_

 _"Yes," she glanced over her shoulder at him, shooting him a scathing glare. "Yes I do."_

 _Marley squinted and shot at another masked attacker with great precision, but there were too many bodies still in the building it would be hard to hit all of the targets without killing a civilian._

 _"Boss, get behind the counter." She instructed._

 _"But-"_

 _"_ _ **Gem**_ _," she growled. "Get behind the counter and stay down."_

 _He did as he was told without any hesitation. Once he was behind the bar Marley handed him his gun back._

 _"Take this."_

 _"What?" Gem narrowed his eyes at her._

 _"I don't need it." She told him. "Trust me."_

 _He hesitated now. He looked at her like she was crazy and at the same time he wanted her behind the bar with him. But he knew what she could do. He trusted her with his life and more. But he was terrified of losing her._

 _So, he took the gun from her, and just as quickly pulled her to him, cupping her face with his hands and kissed her like he wanted to the second she made him her first drink._

 _"Come back safe to me, cher." He murmured._

 _Marley, blushing and surprised, stared into his bright green eyes and swore to him that she would be back, "And maybe we can go over that proposal." She teased and turned back to the dance floor._

 _The music continued playing since the DJ fled from the scene as soon as he could; the lights continued flashing and the floor lit up distractingly. She cracked her knuckles as she neared the masked people._

 _"Let's dance." She sneered darkly and challenged them with a wave of her hand. They all shot at her at once. And like before, she saw it all as if in slow motion and all she had to do was move a centimeter to let the bullets graze passed her. And in a blink of an eye she was on each of them with such furious power it was like she was a SEAL herself._

 _She grabbed their arm holding the gun and smashed their elbow with her knee, shattering it then plowed her elbow into his nose, which sent him crashing to the floor. She snatched his gun and clicked the cartridge, releasing it and using the gun to break another one's nose, she jabbed the center of his throat, making him choke and drop the gun. She made one last blow with her fist to his face and he dropped to the floor. By this time, five of the ten masks that were originally there had fled leaving five people stupid enough to stay. The stupid ones were easy to take care of._

 _Not stopping the zone she was in she, she jabbed another one in the stomach, kneed him in the balls and smashed his face into her knee. One more down. The next one had dropped their gun and was staring at her with wide eyes, so she walked up to them and headbutted him sending him to the floor. Two down. Marley turned around, only to be met with a gun to her forehead._

 _Her gaze didn't waver as she stared up at the masked man._

 _"You sure you want to do that?" she asked him._

 _"Who said I was aiming at you?" he said and fired. Marley froze as the bullet whisked passed her and she watched as it buried itself into Mr. Gemini's chest._

 ** _"GEMINI!"_** _Marley cried out. And in a fury fueled rage she turned back to the shooter and broke his arm and both of his knees. She left him sprawled out on the ground crying in pain as she sprinted to Gemini's side as he was being carried away._

 _"Gem," she stared at him with wide eyes. "I'm so sorry, I should've seen it coming. I'm so sorr-"_

 _Gemini brought a hand to Marley's cheek and she leaned into it as tears began welling up in her eyes._

 _"Cher," he murmured. "You were amazing. More than amazing. My knight in shining armor, you made me so proud."_

 _She closed her eyes as his hand left her face and he was being lifted into an ambulance in the back alley. She barely noticed anything else beside Gemini; she needed him to be ok._

 _"Here," he held a hand out to her; she took what was in it and stared at him with wide eyes. It was his signature Gemini necklace, he always wore it, never took it off…it was too special to him. And he was giving it to her. "Think of it as a…proposal to the actual proposal."_

 _"I'll never take it off." She promised him._

 _"Good." He smiled softly at her. "I will see you soon, cher." The doors to the ambulance closed and the vehicle drove off._

 _Marley was left with the clean up security in the alley and in the club. She stared down at the necklace in her hands, and then slowly put it around her neck._

 _"Marley," Gemini's security manager approached her cautiously. "We need to go over protocol."_

 _She sighed, "Ok."_

 _"You need to stay under the radar for awhile," he told her. "Don't come into work, don't make any calls to Gemini or any of the security here, funds will be transferred to your account until it is safe to come back-"_

 _"What about Gem," Marley said as she stared off to where to vehicle disappeared. "Is he…he's going to be ok, right?"_

 _"He will be." He told her, though she sensed some uncertainty in his voice. "We need to know what happened to Gemini's security. Why wasn't he staffed at the time of the attack?"_

 _"His personal guards went to take care of a rowdy guest." She told him. "They actually brought him out to this alley…and I never saw them come back in…" she narrowed her eyes after realizing how suspicious that was. "Uh, but I tried calling for back up, but Gem wouldn't let me."_

 _"Hey boss!" another guard called at the entrance of the alley. Marley and the manager ran to meet the guard at the dumpster. "We've got a problem."_

 _"What?" he and Marley demanded._

 _The guard lifted the lid to the dumpster and lying there were the mutilated bodies of Gemini's personal security. Marley backed up from the dumpster, eyes wide._

 _"Oh my God." She murmured in horror._

 _"How did this happen?" the manager demanded, as if the situation become even more serious than it already was._

 _"We'll have to get an autopsy." The guard informed them. "Before we can say anything for certain, that is."_

 _"Do it." The manager said then turned to Marley. "As for you, go home. We'll call you when it's safe to come back to work."_

 _"No," Marley, having gotten over the disturbing bodies in the dumpster, stood before the manager with an intimidating presence that could rival Gemini's. "You call me when Gem is out of surgery."_

 _The manager's lips pursed into a straight line and noticed the necklace around her neck, he didn't dare deny her, "Yes, Marley."_

 _"Good." She said, then left the premise.  
_

* * *

 **Present day...**

Sound of clamoring and crashing objects from the apartment next to her's woke Marley up, well, at least stopped her from trying to fall asleep again…it probably doesn't matter at three in the morning.

 _CRASH!_

Marley heard a faint moan of pain from the other side of the wall separating her apartment from the Parker's. She glanced over at the wall with a curiously raised eyebrow, the sound of footsteps paced throughout the room, and Marley sat up and leaned on her forearm.

Suddenly, there was a light knocking at her bedroom window. She looked over to see a shadow crouched down at the fire escape. Pulling the covers off herself she walked over to the window and her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

He showed up to her window, beat up, wet, and covered in glitter. Marley blinked several times just to make sure she was actually seeing this and it wasn't an illusion.

"Peter…what…how…?"

"It's a long story…Can I use your shower?"

"Fine, but if you clog the drain with glitter I'm telling May you double as a stripper."


	4. Chapter 4

**Please Read &Review, Fav&Follow, and Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Marley sat on the red couch in her living room, phone in hand and cigarette in mouth. She scrolled through Glitch and making plans for the Secret Beach Bash that was going to happen that night. Of course with the bash being a secret she and her Glitch team wouldn't announce the secret location except to a few select strangers who would spread the information themselves.

 _You see this news story?_ Her friend texted the link to a network article of a new costumed figure swinging around the city on rope or something. Why hadn't Marley seen this article before?

 _What is this? A publicity stunt?_ She texted back. As she waited for a response she returned to the article and scrolled through the pictures. The majority were blurry and looked like it could've been edited or Photoshopped. The article probably hadn't gone viral due to the complete obscurity of the topic, completely unbelievable or maybe just a wannabe Avenger that's going to be killed due to their own inexperience wasn't interesting enough.

 _New Avenger maybe? Want to do a spin on it?_ Her friend replied.

 _Wait a few days; see if the guy gets any traction or if he just disappears. Could just be a waste of time_. Marley replied then went back to the pictures because something was haunting her in the back of her mind. Something about the blurry picture stood out to her…almost like an alarm was going off in her head that she _should_ know this figure. Instead of investigating further she turned off her phone and focus on the situation at hand.

Peter was washing off in her shower and she had so many questions running through her head. And she wasn't afraid to ask them.

"So," she shouted to him in the shower from the living room. "Why glitter? Should that be something I should be worried about or is that just a personal preference of yours?"

"Can you talk to me once I'm in the living room?" he called back to her; she could hear his embarrassment in his voice. "This is kind of awkward for me."

"If it's the fact I'm in a different room I could come into the bathroom?"

"NO!" Peter shrieked.

Marley nearly burst into a fit of laughter. Teasing the little Parker boy was one of her favorite past times, just watching him squirm under her tormenting and playful banter made her day. She continued texting her friend updates on location scouting for the bash as she heard the water shut off. Peter, not long after, walked out of the bathroom, his usual messy hair was damp and he wore his rather baggy pajamas but what stood out to Marley the most was his muscular form.

She was absolutely positive the little scrawny nerd was _not_ this ripped before. Hell, he couldn't hold himself up with his own two arms but now his arms looked like they could hold himself up just fine… actually she was kind of jealous of how toned he was.

"Your home is a wreck," he decided to jab at her playfully. "You could've at least cleaned the bathroom."

"Had I known I was going to have guests at three o'clock in the morning I'm sure I would've." She smirked at him. Marley tilted her head at Peter and narrowed her eyes, "When did you start working out, string bean?"

Peter's face went red and he glanced down nervously, "Oh, uh, ya know..a little while ago."

"Really?" she squinted at him. "Huh, I never noticed."

He shrugged and rubbed his hands together anxiously, "So, I, uh, thanks for letting me use your shower. I should go."

Marley lept up from her seat, "Oh HELL no, half pint!" she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt as he turned to leave. "Spill on the glitter."

"I-I-It was just for a project," Peter raised his hands in surrender. "I kind of over did it a little."

"A _little_?" Marley picked off a speck of stray glitter from his hair.

"Ok, a lot."

She crossed her arms over her chest and took a step back from him; she was trying to size him up and was trying to figure out why she felt like something was different.

"Did you lose your virginity?"

"WHAT?!" Peter's face went the reddest red it could go and covered his chest and crotch like Marley could see right through his clothes. She tilted her head again, unfazed by his reaction. "N-N-NO! I mean, I-I-I'm not—I mean I-I-"

"Are you sure?" she rubbed her chin in thought. "Something's different about you, P….I can't put my finger on it."

Peter was speechless; he couldn't come up with anything to say he was in such shock from the first question. His face still glowed red.

"I-I don't know…puberty?"

Marley made a face and placed her hands on her hips, "Hm, yea maybe that's it…what the _fuck?!"_

A familiar coloration on his pale skin caught her eye and an angry heat wave coursed through her veins. She grabbed his arm and lifted up his sleeve to reveal a set of purple and blue bruises decorating his shoulder and most likely trailing down his back as well.

"What happened, Peter?!" she snarled. "Who did this to you? Tell me and I'll rip them to shreds. Who the _fuck would dare-_ "

"It was me!" Peter pulled out of Marley's grip, to her surprise because she had a very strong grip. "I did it, it was an accident. I-I fell."

"From _what_?" Marley burst at him suspiciously. "A _skyscraper_?"

Peter, almost hesitant after hearing the statement, scratched the back of his neck nervously, "No, some stairs. You know how clumsy I am."

Marley knew it was a lie. You don't get bruises like that, even for Peter, from just stairs. She would know. But Peter was very determined to keep whatever it was a secret. Her only problem was letting him keep the secret or beating it out of him.

"You should be more careful." Her hands fell to her sides as she studied him. "And use the door this time when you go back. I don't want you tripping."

Peter avoided her gaze but nodded anyways and walked passed her toward the door.

"Peter," Marley stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets and didn't turn around. She heard his feet stop at the door. "Don't go out tonight. I heard there's going to be an Anti-Avenger's march. Stay safe indoors."

There was a long pause before he responded with a simple, "Ok." And he left.

Marley let out a deep sigh and her head dropped. She didn't know why…she felt like she needed to tell him that. It wasn't like Peter was an Anti-Avenger activist; he loved them…why would she think he would go out at all?

Shaking her head, Marley dug her phone out of her pocket and dialed her Glitch partner.

"Paige," she said. "I know where we're having the bash tonight. And I know the theme."

* * *

'Shit-faced' was the theme. Free drinks for one and all (of age of course), anyone who wants or needs to let off steam or just forget the passed few weeks. Marley knew she needed it and was positive that it was needed for the rest of the world. The party was sponsoring charities to help people affected by the Avengers in New York, Sokovia, and wherever else. Whatever money wasn't used to buy drinks was encouraged to be donated. By one in the morning Glitch gathered a surprising amount of donations from the partygoers as well as anonymous donations from people around the city.

"How's Glitch?" Marley asked Paige as they stood behind the stage where the DJ raved. She finished off her bottle of beer, luckily another wasn't too far away, and she opened it and began downing it.

"Glowing." Paige smirked as she showed Marley the app. "We've got over half a million for downloads in the past hour alone. People are in love with the 'Shit-Face-Donate Bash' idea. And the open donation page was genius for people who can't be here, we're already getting emails and calls from news stations and reports."

"Don't answer them." Marley instructed her. "And by six have all the money split and sent to the proper charities then close the donation page on Glitch but leave links to the charities donated to."

"Got it." Paige gave her a thumbs up then typed away at her phone.

"I'm going to pit stop in the convenient store across the block." Marley said as she pulled a cigarette out of her pocket and lit it. "Want anything?"

"A lighter, I lost mine." Paige dug her pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and waved it to Marley. "And maybe another pack, I'm almost out."

"Gotcha."

Marley stuck her hands in her pockets and puffed out a small cloud of smoke. She hummed to herself as she walked down the sidewalk. The streets were rather empty tonight, probably because so many people were either hiding or in the protest. She could see the slight wobble in her step as the alcohol began to work its way into her blood stream. The yellow/orange glow of the street lights lit up the dark road and the neon open signs flickered at the late night businesses.

"WHOO!"

Marley paused in her walk and looked around for the source of the exhilarated cry of joy. She pulled the cigarette from her lips and narrowed her eyes, then, out of sheer curiosity, she turned around and looked up…Just in time to see the swinging costumed freak soar just over her head. It was like slow motion as she watched him. The costume was shit and baggy red and blue, bulky goggles covered his eyes and a mask over his face. He was barely seen from the darkness of the city. Marley watched, not in awe, but almost the interest a cat has with a mouse. Who was that guy?

And why did he think he was good enough to save their city?

She knew she should take a picture, a video, or _something_ but the swinging costume spotted her along the sidewalk. And stared at her…almost knowingly. Just as he swung by her, he waved hesitantly, but it distracted him enough to almost slam into a building.

Marley cringed at his stupidity but in a blink of an eye he was gone again.

"Huh…" she murmured searching the tops of the buildings of any form of shadow. With a shake of her head she tossed her cigarette on the ground. "Stupid kid." She muttered and walked into the convenient store.

As she strolled down the aisles, roaming the gross selection of junk foods, she mostly did this to waste time and because the alcohol was definitely starting to catch up with her. She turned to be met with her reflection in the freezer door. The glistening of Gemini's necklace around her neck caught her attention, she kept forgetting it was there…she had gotten so used to wearing it. She brought a hand up to fondle the necklace, and just as she gripped it a familiar white mask caught the corner of her eye. It was the same white bandana…another person but same bandana. The bandana turned and met her gaze, to which she quickly covered up her necklace and glanced away.

Marley scanned the freezer door, pretending to be interested in the product in there, but watched the reflection in search for more of them. She counted only five.

 _NO!_

Marley shook her head. _Don't._ She thought to herself. _Not again. Don't do this. You do this and you might not see Gemini again. You do this and you will put innocent people in danger…_

In a split second panicked decision Marley raced to the bathroom at the back of the store.

She gripped the rim of the stained filthy sink and tried to steady her hands. The reflection of herself in the mirror settled herself. In her eyes she could see every reason that brought her right back to where she started.

The reasons why she knew she was going to kick their asses into the next life.

Her father.

Her friends.

The Sokovian children.

Gemini.

"One last time," she whispered to herself.

She huffed and stared at her dressed up self in her high waisted shorts, her cropped grey shirt, and black and white flat brimmed hat. The beach party was business and pleasure, mostly pleasure.

To her disappointment this party went straight from pleasure to business… _another_ kind of business.

One. Last. Time.

She clenched and unclenched her fists, pulled her hoodie that she wrapped around her waist on, hood up, and let out a nervous sigh before exiting the bathroom of the convenience store that was located just off the block party.

The gross flickering florescent lighting in the shop was nearly nauseating, but it assisted in her disguise. She ducked her head, pretending to scan the various chips in the aisle, and counted the heads in the room. The fact that she was already a little tipsy didn't exactly help but she could focus enough.

 _Five heads._

 _Two innocents._

One innocent was the cashier and the other was a teen who didn't look like was at the party. He looked familiar to her but she couldn't place it, probably because she was a tad tipsy, but the name 'Parker' couldn't leave her mind. The thought, as it came to her mind left just as quickly, and she made her move toward one of the men farther back. He was drunk, an easy target…but he had a gun on him. The guy lazily scanned over the various beverages in the fridge, attempting to come to a decision on what to steal. While the thugs were focusing their target, she took the one by the fridge with ease, wrapping her arm around his neck and cutting air to his brain. He slumped to the floor, unconscious, as she snagged his gun from his pants belt.

"Marley?"

She looked up toward the sound of the startled voice. It was the boy, 'Parker', looking down at her a few aisles away. She didn't take much notice of him because the attention of the thugs was suddenly diverted to her.

"Get down." She hissed at 'Parker' and he listened.

The grey cropped shirt. That was the one thing he noticed first, for some odd reason, next, he analyzed her face; her short wavy hair just touched her jaw, fair skin, and dark hazel eyes. Instead of scanning her all the way down to her toes his eyes traced the arm that she held up and horizontal to her side. The handgun held steadily in her grip resembled the blank stare in her eyes and the crooked grin on her face made him regret entering the store in the first place.

The crooked grin on her face was unnervingly calm as she held the gun pointed at the man pointing his at the cashier.

With a quick click of the gun she shouted out: "BUH-BANG!"

And _that's_ when all hell broke loose.

The bullet went clear through the man's shoulder and racks of snacks and foods toppled over as bullets flew. Brutish looking men in hoodies fired their guns at this girl and she spun and ducked dodging each bullet in an awkward fashion. She completely ungracefully dodged each bullet; like she was _lucky_ each bullet narrowly missed her. It was probably the alcohol finally reaching each part of her body that made her this clumsy, maybe it was also the reason that she convinced herself this was a good idea. She knew she was going to regret this, if she would even remember it by morning.

The girl jumped over a rack of snacks, landing in a crouch on the ground as the guns ran out of bullets. Before they could refill the girl straightened up and stretched out her limbs, she over exaggerated the actions like she was mocking them.

She tossed the gun aside and cracked her knuckles. _Then_ she stopped messing around. The thugs went at her and she fended them off, because these guys weren't angry drunks they were drunk drunk and on whatever that new drug was. They could barely see straight.

She took them one by one, sustaining minor bruising in the process. A fist meeting her jaw, a leg bruising some ribs, as well as a black eye (which she has learned to expertly hide with makeup) were definitely some ugly memories of what will be her last fight…hopefully. As she stood over the mildly unconscious bodies she took a moment to defog her mind from the alcohol getting to her.

 _One body_ —she counted in her head— _Two bodies…Three-_

"Where—"

 _WHAM!_

Marley turned around to find the fourth body crumbled to the floor and standing over him was 'Parker' struggling to hold the fire extinguisher in his grip.

She squinted at the boy as she took the container from him.

"Get out of here." She said.

'Parker', looking sick to his stomach, bolted out of the store leaving Marley to console the cashier.

"You called he cops?" she asked the startled young woman. She nodded, shaking behind the desk. "Good," she said.

"A-A-Are y-you…one of those heroes? An Avenger?" the cashier stammered.

Marley tilted her hat down and adjusted her hoodie, replying with a stiff, "No."

"Do you d-do this of-ften?"

Marley turned away, ducking her head and trudged out of the store, muttering, "Not anymore."

She made her way down the sidewalk back to her apartment when an unsettling feeling lingered in her stomach.

"Huh," she muttered to herself. "That didn't feel as satisfying as it usually—" she paused, grabbed her stomach and ran to the nearest trash can, vomiting whatever was left in her stomach. She was going to feel the hangover in the morning….and most likely not even remember this night.

 _One. Last. Time._

It was the same thing she told herself every time this situation occurs…she kept telling herself it would be the last time. The _last_ time she would do stupid things like this. The _last_ time she'd put people in danger. The _last_ time she'd put herself in danger. _The last time_ ….

But she will always managed to convince herself to do it: One last time.


	5. Chapter 5

**Please Read &Review, Fav&Follow, and Enjoy! :)**

* * *

 _BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

Marley groaned as she rolled over in her bed, her mess of auburn hair covered her face and dried drool dripped down her cheek. She buried her face into her pillow as the incessant beeping of her phone continued and groaned in annoyance. Lazily, she made a reach for her phone but instead knocked it off her nightstand and onto the floor.

 _BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

"Damn it," She muffled into her pillow and turned her head, her eyes still closed, "Fuck you too, phone."

She leaned off her bed, grabbed her fallen phone and blinked several times at the bright screen.

"Errrr…" she growled and turned off the alarm. "8:15…" she pulled her comforter over her head and nestled back into bed. Glowing on her phone were several texts from Paige reminding her of an interview with the Daily Bugle newspaper at 8 in a nearby coffee shop.

Several seconds went by before she realized – "EIGHT!" Marley screamed and tossed the comforter off her. "SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!" she jumped out of bed, tripped over a pile of dirty clothes on the floor as she pushed through the doorway into the bathroom, her pajamas now making their own pile on the floor.

She stuck her toothbrush, covered in a glob of toothpaste, in her mouth and ran back into her room, digging through one of the many piles of clothes on her floor until she found something decent (and not smelly) for an interview.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," she muttered to herself like a mantra. Foaming toothpaste dripped out of the corner of her mouth as she pulled out a pair of skinny jeans from one pile, a cropped grey turtle neck tank top that she had worn earlier, and a dark red plaid shirt to tie around her waist as well as a dark hoodie for the weather. She hopped back to the bathroom as she pulled the skinny jeans on, spat out the foam, tossed her toothbrush in the sink, and grabbed her glasses because contacts would be a bitch, and made her way to the front door. Luckily, the coffee shop wasn't far…if she ran.

Marley gripped the door knob but paused in realization. She calculated traffic, stop lights, and the busyness of the sidewalks in her head and realized it would take her a lot longer if she ran on the streets. She slowly turned saw stared at her window, an idea forming in her brain.

"Well," she sighed to herself. "It'll be quicker."

She shrugged her shoulders, sucked in a deep breath then made a break for the window. She leapt out onto the fire escape and catapulted herself onto the roof of the building next door. Somersaulting onto the rooftop she made a sprint toward the farthest corner of the building and jumped to the next one. As she came up the alley below she jumped and grabbed a hold of an extended pole in that alley, swung and grabbed hold of barred windows, then fell delicately onto the top of a dumpster below. Marley climbed off the dumpster and adjusted her hoodie before casually making her way into the busy sidewalk.

She let out the breath she didn't realizing she had been holding and tucked her hands into her pockets, digging for a cigarette.

"Shit." She muttered after realizing she had left them at home.

The coffee shop she was looking for was just up the block. And she was only twenty minutes late she tried to think positively.

 _Coffee_ , she thought. _You're getting coffee just remember that. Coffee is the best. Coffee is good for the soul._

The same hipster coffee joint was filled with young adults with their heads ducked down into the phones and laptops. Marley walked up to the bearded and tattooed barista behind the counter and he nodded to her, "What can I get you?"

"Dark roast." She said and handed him a five dollar bill. He gave her her change then went to grab her drink.

She gazed around the coffee shop at the quiet costumers and came to the realization that her interviewer had left.

 _Whoops_ she thought. _Paige is gonna give me an ear full later._

Marley thanked the barista for her drink and just as she turned around, taking a gentle sip of her coffee, she caught sight of a rather broad man sitting at a table across the shop. To anyone else he probably would've just looked like any other civilian minding their own business in a coffee shop. But three things stood out her. He wore combat boots tide tightly and neatly with his pants tucked into them. A typical military uniform standard, she recognized it because her father did the same thing. Second, he wore a baseball cap low on his face even though he was _inside_ , as if he was trying to hide from someone. And lastly, he was reading a newspaper... who fucking does that anymore?

Marley was sure at that moment. She was going screw with Captain America.

"Ah, I can see the quotes now," Marley waved her hand she outlined the sentence in the air. She stood next to the table the Avenger sat at, his head buried in the paper. "I saw a guy at Starbucks today. He had no smartphone, tablet, or laptop. He just sat there drinking his coffee. Like a psychopath."

Steve looked up, amused, with a smirk on his face, "You a writer?"

Marley shook her head, "Not even close." She gestured to the extra chair at his table, "May I?"

Steve nodded and placed his paper down on the table as he took a sip of his coffee. Marley took a seat and set her drink on the table, crossing her legs casually as she studied his face.

"Anything interesting in there?" Marley pointed to his newspaper.

Steve met the hazel-eyed gaze of Marley, a teasing cat like gaze was settled on him and it made him uneasy. She could see a sort of unsettling amusement hidden in his stare…it made her unusually nervous.

"Yankees won last nights game." Steve quipped back at her. Marley pursed her lips and nodded at the information.

"Mm, I'm more of a Brewers fan myself." She shrugged and took a sip of her coffee.

Steve scoffed good naturedly as he casually continued the conversation, "That gives me one more reason not to trust you."

"What're your other reasons?" Marley asked as she felt the tension increase between the two.

Steve took a sip of his drink and folded his paper up, "Well, it's obvious you know who I am but you haven't outed me so you have a reason for it." He leaned back in his seat. "What's that reason?"

"Just casual conversation." Marley smiled pleasantly. Steve narrowed his eyes at her. "But now that you mention it-" She put her cup down and leaned toward him. "The flying kid swinging around the city, is he one of yours?"

Steve raised an eyebrow at her. "What if he is?"

"Then I'd like to submit a formal complaint," Marley grabbed her cup again. "Reel your newbies in before they get themselves or someone else hurt."

"And if we don't?" Steve challenged her.

"You don't wanna know what'll happen."

Steve leaned forward; his blue gaze bore into her with his most intimidating stare. She wasn't fazed.

"Is that a threat?" His voice was low and menacing.

"It can mean whatever you want it to... _Captain_." She grinned crookedly.

"I think you'd better watch your back, _Bia_."

Marley could feel the color in her face disappear and her heart stop. Bia. _Bia._ _ **Bia**_ _._ That name. No one was supposed to know that name. The only people that knew that name _died in Sokovia_. _Bia died in Sokovia._

Several moments of silence passed as the two stared hard at each other. The tension of who would flip the table first haunted the air around them. Marley didn't even know where to start, so many questions flew through her head but at the same time she didn't know if she wanted the answers. She could feel a thumping in her chest quicken, her breath shorten, and a slight shake in her hand as she tried to remain a calm demeanor…to try to keep some sort of upper hand.

Not coming up with a clever response, Marley fell fate to her confusion and stammered, "W-What did you say?"

A shit-eating smirk plastered on the Captain's face as he took another sip of his coffee.

"You know, for a military weapon, you sure as hell don't have the composure for it. " Steve mused. Marley glanced around the coffee shop. She had to be set up, this had to be a joke, she thought. In a panic state she leaned dangerously close to the Avenger and whispered, "What the hell is this?"

"Your interview, remember?"

All alarms began going off in Marley's head. Run. Fight. _Something. Anything._ Just not _here_.

"Listen, Bia, I know this is probably-"

"That's not my name." she muttered through gritted teeth.

"-a shock and after your development in Sokovia-"

" _That's not my name_." She clenched her fists under the table.

"But the Avenger's are recruiting-"

" _SHUT UP!"_ Marley roared and bolted up from her chair, knocking it backwards. Boiling anger radiated off her and everyone in the shop sensed it, few people had the guts to get up and leave, others stood stalk still in fear. Steve didn't even flinch.

Before anyone could take another breath Marley was out the door and sprinting down the block. She shoved passed people on the crowded sidewalk and when she looked over her shoulder she saw Steve in pursuit. Cursing under her breath she detoured into traffic and weaved between cars, she kept repeating in her head how stupid she was to let this happen. How could she have gotten _caught_?

Marley ducked into an alley across the street and over an eight-foot tall fence, which she was fairly certain the American hero could easily vault. She had to lose him some how. After exiting the alley on the other end she looked around for any source of safe haven. And that's when she spotted the Holy Grail.

A strip joint called Tease.

Thank god she actually knew the owner through Gemini.

She sprinted across the street to Tease and burst through the door to be met with a cloud of smoke and sensual fast paced music and dark lights. Trying to catch her breath, Marley casually made her way to the bar and untucked Gemini's necklace from her shirt. She leaned on the bar and nodded to the bartender.

"I need to see Miss M," she said. "It's a favor call."

The bartender, hesitant, nodded and left into a back room. Marley, letting her stiff shoulders finally relax, let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Hey, doll, you lookin' for a private dance?"

Marley looked over her shoulder to find a half naked, rather attractive, red head biting her lower lip at her. She came up next her at the bar and leaned an arm on it.

"No thanks, darling," Marley replied and turned back to the door where the bartender disappeared.

"You seem tense, doll," the red head persisted. "How about one on the house?"

Marley narrowed her eyes and glanced back at her again, "What's your name?"

"Rose."

"How original," Marley sighed and rolled her eyes, she turned her attention back to the bar. "Listen, Rose, I'm sure there are more other _willing_ takers around here."

"I'm afraid I only have _eyes for you_."

A waved of shock and fear froze Marley in place. She slowly turned her head to the stripper who was now not as attractive to Marley anymore.

"You might have tricked Steve," she leaned toward Marley. "But I'm more willing to get work done. But I'm not here to talk about recruitment. I need to talk to you about a certain Gemini."

 _Black Widow._ Marley hissed in her head and backed up from the bar.

"You're coming with me." Black Widow told her.

"She isn't _going anywhere_."

Black Widow and Marley turned to see a rather tall and broad woman standing behind them with several of her large and armed guards.

"I suggest you leave at once, Miss Widow." Miss M smiled kindly. "I don't want any kind of unnecessary mess to clean up, you see?"

Black Widow, a frown on her face, reluctantly backed off, "We wouldn't want that, now would we."

"I'm glad you understand." Miss M replied and placed a gentle hand on Marley's shoulder. "Marley, darling, it has been too long."

Marley watched as Widow retreated from the premises before replying to the club owner, "Thank you, Miss M."

"Oh, darling, anything for the girl who brought me and my wife together!" Miss M led Marley into the back room. It was red, everything was red satin, velvet, anything in every texture was red. "And as I assumed by that _gorgeous_ necklace you're wearing," she waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Can I expect a wedding in your future?"

Marley shyly grinned and stroked her necklace, "Hopefully."

"Now," Miss M patted next to her on her plush red velvet couch. "Tell me, darling, do you need _anything_? Those Avenger brats giving you any trouble?"  
"Not until recently." Marley admitted as she took a seat next to Miss M. "I'm also so sorry for bringing them into your establishment. I was trying to get rid of them-"  
"OH, _darling_ ," Miss M waved a hand and shook her head. "No problem _at all_. You need a safe haven Tease is open to you whenever you need it. In fact, here," she gestured for one of her security forward. "Here is my personal number. If you need absolutely _anything_ , please call me. I know this must be a tough time with Mr. Gemini under the radar at the moment."

Marley took the card that Miss M offered to her and nodded to her in thanks. She took the card and tucked it in her pocket.

"Oh!" Miss M placed a hand on her cheek. "We should do brunch! Oh, _darling_ , you, my wife, Mr. Gemini, and I should all do brunch!"

"That would be great." Marley offered a tired smile. "The moment Gem comes back that will be the first thing we do."

"Oh _splendid!"_ she gushed. "I will hold you too that, you know. Oh, I'm so excited now."

"I should be going." Marley mentioned and noticed a slight disappointment in in Miss M's face. "I should go home, I'm rather tired."

"Oh, of course. I'll have my driver take you-"  
"No, really, that's ok." Marley insisted. "I was actually hoping I could use your tunnels?"

Miss M made a face of disgust, " _Really?_ Oh, darling it's so filthy down there…but I know I can't convince you otherwise. Spencer," she summoned one of her guards. "Show Miss Marley to the tunnels."

"Thank you, Miss M." Marley stood up and took Miss M's hand in hers. "And if there's a wedding," she winked at her. "You will be the first to know about it."

"Oh, _darling_ ," Miss M smiled. "There _will_ be one I'm positive."

Spencer led Marley to the entrance of the tunnels, which was hidden far back and into the walls of the building. The tunnels had been created years ago, which connected the five rising mob bosses on New York to their buildings. Gemini's club, Orchid, was one of them and near her apartment. This was the only clear route she had to make it home safe.

Once she entered the tunnels Marley felt her body become instantly tired. It was barely noon and so much had already happened she just wanted to forget it all.

 _She just needed a drink._

* * *

Eighth drink in…well, eighth _bottle_ in to be exact. Marley, fuzzy minded, was trying to grab her secret stash of her good drinks hidden at the top of a cabinet. She reached up high on her tip toes and grasped the neck of the bottle, then slipped with a loud boom but the bottle was safe.

"Hic-sh-shit-hic." She hiccupped.

"Marley?" Peter burst into her apartment. "Are you ok? I heard a crash."

Marley popped up from behind the counter, waving the bottle in her hand a large grin on her face, "I got it!"

Peter followed as Marley wobbled from side to side around the kitchen.

"You're drunk right now."

"No I'm not, you're just blurry." Marley pointed a shaky finger in his direction. "Mul-..multiplied Peters..oh god."

Peter, moderately concerned for his friend's wellbeing, grabbed the bottle from the counter and dumped it into the sink.

"You really think that's my only bottle?" Marley scoffed and grabbed another one from her freezer.

"What's gotten into you?" Peter demanded.

"Vodka is in me," Marley hiccupped and waved the bottle as she struggled to open it. "Lots and lots of it and I plan on doing this until I can't do it anymore."

Peter swiped the bottle from her grasp, "I'm not going to let you do that."

"Like you can stop- hic- me."

She reached for the bottle in his hand but he stepped aside out of her reach.

"Damn it, Pete." She whined. Every time she reached for it he moved out of the way. "Give me the fucking bottle!"

"No."

Marley scowled and lept at Peter, pinning him to the wall.

"Go home, Pete." Peter's nose wrinkled at the strong scent of alcohol on her breath. "Go back home and go back to your life without me in it."

"I can't do that." He replied.

"You can and will."

"Correction, I won't." he said.

Marley, now angry, snarled, "Why not?! I'm not important in your life and I have nothing else to live for! Everyone I love is dead."

Peter's gaze remained unwavered, "Bullshit."

Hearing the nerd swear for the first time surprised Marley. She could see tears brimming his eyes as he stared at her…she could see sadness in his eyes.

"The fact that you think you're not important to me is utter bullshit," he spat at her. "You mean so much more to me, you're my family whether you like it or not. AND DAMMIT I WON'T LOSE YOU TOO!" he cried. "Not if I can do something about it."

Tears spilled down his cheeks and dropped his head.

"I won't lose you too…" he repeated.

Marley recognized the pain in his voice all too well. He had the same tone when his uncle died, the same voice he spoke to his aunt with when she was in her depressive state. And that's when she realized she had forgotten…she had forgotten that Gemini wasn't her only reason for living, she lived for hearing about Peter's day at school (even though she pretended she didn't), his next engineering project that he was dumpster diving for, giving him terrible life lesson, and helping the little nerd be more outgoing and experience life. She cared for Peter like he was her own little brother, like family, and she didn't realize it until now. If she were to disappear…who would keep him from tripping over his shadow?

She released her grip on Peter and embraced him in a backbreaking hug.

"I'm sorry, Peter," she muffled into his hair as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm so sorry."

"Please, don't leave me, Marley." He wept into her shoulder.

"I'm not going anywhere, half pint," Marley murmured. "I swear I'm not going to go anywhere."


	6. Chapter 6

**Please Read &Review, Fav&Follow, and Enjoy! :)**

* * *

After a half hour of trying to calm Peter down and sobering herself up, Marley and Peter both dumped out all of her liquor in her apartment.

 _It's for your own good._ She had to repeat to herself in her head. And every time she thought of stopping she looked at Peter and remembered. She turned two bottles of wine over in the kitchen sink as Peter rummaged through the cabinets for any hidden bottles.

"You should really get some real food." Peter told her.

"Coffee isn't food?" Marley gasped sarcastically. To calm her nerves she grabbed a cigarette from the counter and her father's lighter, which never parted from them.

"You should really quit smoking too." Peter mentioned as he picked up Marley's lighter.

She stiffened and swiped the lighter from his hand a little too quickly, making him flinch. Realizing her hastiness she glanced away, "Sorry."

"Who's Officer Golightly?"

Marley gripped her lighter tighter at the sound of that name and felt herself go faint.

 **Flashback::**

 _A cold breeze gusted over the military base that looked like it was in the middle of nowhere but was really located miles outside Sokovia. Due to the violent protests in the city a SEAL team was brought in for precautionary measures. Marley stood by her Harley motorcycle blasting 'Blame it on the Boogie' from her phone. She was wearing her work clothes, jeans, combat boots, a flannel tied around her waist and a tank top, she was used to cold weather so the chilly breeze wasn't bothering her. It was actually refreshing._

 _"Officer Golightly!" Marley shouted at the tall and broad man standing with his other SEAL team members. "Quit your gossiping and let's go get lunch!" Officer Golightly chuckled as his team members teased him. He walked over to the girl leaning against her Harley motorcycle and grinning like the Cheshire Cat._

 _"Hey there, kiddo." Golightly's large arm wrapped around her and squeezed her tightly. "Why'd you always have to go and tease me in front of the team?"_

 _Marley grinned and shrugged, "Because I'm your daughter and I can do what I want."_

 _"Fair point." He laughed. "Where are we going to eat?"_

 _"There's a little place a mile from here." Marley tucked her hands into her pockets. "Anything vegetarian." She pouted. "We just had to put down Kion."_

 _"That lion you just brought into the habitat?" Golightly patted Marley's shoulder as the duo began leaving the premises. "Sorry to hear that, Molls."_

 _Marley sighed, "It's a bummer, but we have to keep going. We've been finding a lot of stray dogs on the grounds recently too so we've been housing them as well. What have you guys been up to?"_

 _Officer Golightly smirked at his daughter._

 _"You know it's classified," he said. Marley shrugged and smirked at him, "It was worth a shot."_

 _Golightly dug his lighter out of his pants pocket and lit a cigarette that seemed to appear at his mouth like magic._

 _Marley sighed, "You really need to quit. You know it's not good for you."_

 _Golightly let out a puff of smoke and grinned, "Better smoke than a bullet."_

 _"I'd like you to stay alive for as long as you can, please and thank you." Marley elbowed him in the side. She quickly retracted her arm and raised an eyebrow at her father in surprise. "What's that shirt made out of? Rocks?"_

 _Golightly fidgeted uncomfortably for a split second before wrapping an arm over her daughter's shoulders, "It's SEAL material, kiddo. Hey, weren't you supposed to go to a hospital or something today?"  
"I did for a little while." Marley said. "The kids there were sweet. We're thinking of making this a biweekly thing-"_

 _"OFFICER GOLIGHTLY!"_

 _The two were barely off the base when one of Golightly's team mates, and Marley's godfather, Whitmore McKnight, shouted urgently at them._

 _They turned around as McKnight ran to them. Marley's heart dropped a little bit when she saw McKnight running toward them. She knew she wasn't going to have lunch with her father anymore and she had to let him go._

 _"We're being called in." he told Golightly._

 _Without any questioning it, Officer Golightly turned to his daughter and said, "I'm sorry kiddo."_

 _"No worries, Dad," Marley told him. "Just be safe."_

 _Officer Golightly embraced his daughter and then ran back to the base with his teammate. Marley made her way back there as well, but at a slower pace since she wasn't the one in a rush. She spotted the truck carrying the SEAL team driving toward her so she stood by the side of the road and waved as it passed her._

 _It wasn't until she made it back to the base that she saw it… the giant piece of Earth being raised into the sky._

 _The city where her father was._

 _Where her friends were._

 _"Oh my god." Marley's eyes widened. "No. NO!"_

 _She raced to her father's motorcycle and kicked it alive with a racing panic. Her father's leader spotted her preparing to drive off toward the floating city and ran toward her shouting her name, "GOLIGHTLY! MOLLY GOLIGHTLY STOP!"_

 _Marley ignored him and left him in the dust. She sped toward the now falling city with tears streaming down her face and the belief that she would make it to save the people she cared about._

 **End flashback::**

"Uh," Marley shook herself out of the memory and lied with ease. "It was my dad's teammate's. They were close. He gave it to him when he died."  
"Oh man," Peter's eyes widened. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," she patted him on the shoulder and led him to the front door. "I can clean up the rest of this stuff, ok? Go do your homework."

"O-ok." Peter stammered and blushed a little, believing he struck a nerve. "But Marley."

Marley had him half way out the door when he stopped in his tracks and turned to her and gave her a hug. She sighed and hugged him back.  
"It's alright kiddo," she told him. "I'll be fine."

Peter nodded and left to his own apartment. Marley closed the door and let out a deep sigh. She stared down at her father's lighter.

She stared hard at it for a long time before taking a cigarette and putting it to her lips and lighting it. She breathed in the delicious smoke and huffed, "It's better than a bullet."

Marley placed the lighter on her kitchen table before heading to her room to wash up. With cigarette mouth she pulled on her grey Navy SEALs tank top and dark blue shorts for bed then pulled her hair back into a small ponytail. She began thinking about what she was going to do tomorrow. Probably meet up with Paige and go over Glitch.

She kicked aside several pieces of clothing scattered over the floor and stepped over fitness equipment. Just as she was about to climb into bed she heard a faint 'creak' from her living room. She looked over her shoulder, the cigarette dangling from her mouth and gears shifting in her head trying to figure out what it was.

With a gentle step toward her bedroom door she grabbed a handgun she had tucked away in a duffle bag. She tip toed to the wall and placed her back against the wall as she held the gun to her chest. She held her breath, waiting for another noise…nothing came. But not leaving it up to chance Marley kicked her bedroom door open and held the gun up as she entered the living room.

"Will you look at that? The Warrior herself. What are you doing here?"

Marley held the gun steady as she eyed the intruder, "I live here."

He stepped away from the window and smiled, "Weird how we always seem to bump into each other, isn't it?"

Her face remained blank, "You broke into my home."

Tony Stark casually walked his way from the living room into the kitchen, unbothered by Marley still pointing the gun at him.

"I wouldn't call it 'breaking in'," he held up finger quotes. "I'd call it a friend seeking a friend's help."

"We're not friends." Marley hissed. "You don't know who I am and you're not supposed to know where I live."

"Do you trust me?" Stark asked.

Marley's eyebrows pulled together in confusion, the stupidity of this man made her want to shoot him because he was annoying her.

"No!" she shook her head at him and held the gun still.

"Smart girl." Stark grinned. "But we need to talk."


	7. Chapter 7

**Please Read &Review, Fav&Follow, and Enjoy! :)**

* * *

The rest of the apartment was dark; the only source of light was the glow of the sun slowly setting as it shone through the apartment windows. Neither person dared move from their spots. Marley new she could hold her position for hours, her hands not so much as quivering as she held the gun pointed at the billionaire superhero and her gaze never left his strangely at ease demeanor. She could feel the warmth of the setting sun on the side of her face and her bare feet bracing the ground ready to advance if needed. It wasn't until this moment that she noticed the friendliness of the sun and for a second it felt like a familiar hand caressing her cheek. She didn't dare close her eyes though.

Stark just stood across from her, leaning a hand across her kitchen counter top, his shoulder's half way slumped in comfort and a warm yellow/orange glow reflected off the side of his face and his unusually uniform suit. His appearance was completely different from the last time she saw him, he seemed more put together…at least on the outside.

"Just put the gun down, alright?" Tony finally spoke up, he waved his free hand toward Marley. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Marley scoffed and tilted her neck to relieve a knot there, "I'd like to see you try."

"Ok, Jason Bourne," he raised his hands up in surrender. "I'm just here to help you."

"You said _you_ were looking for help." Marley scowled at him.

Tony shook his head and stared at her with his widened childish eyes, "No, I said 'friend seeking a friend's help', and clearly," he glanced at her trash bin at the front door fill with emptied alcohol bottles. "-you need it."

"I don't need your judgment." Marley told him, her eyebrows furrowed.

He shrugged, "It's what I do- It's a hobby of mine."

Growing very tired of his childish games, Marley bared her teeth and snarled at the famous philanthropist, "I don't need _your help._ Just _how did you find me."_

"Put down the gun and I'll tell you."

She paused to think over the pros and cons and why she shouldn't just shoot him anyways. _Well, hating him seems to be the biggest reason to shoot him,_ she thought to herself. Sighing, Marley returned the gun to her bedroom by tossing it on her bed and waving her empty hands at Tony as a sign of good faith. But before letting him continue she strode across the room, before he could react, and she punched him in the arm, hard.

"OW!" Tony stumbled backwards into the counter and grabbed his shoulder. He stared at her with wide surprised eyes.

" _That's_ a warning," Marley jabbed him in the chest with her index finger. "You try to break into my apartment again you eat bullets."

"That's totally fair." Tony said. He then dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Your picture came across some of our screens while we were doing research on a certain suspect-"  
"Suspect?" Marley eyed his phone as a holographic screen appeared with multiple files opened.

"Unimportant at the moment. But after seeing your face, I did a little digging on you." He pulled up a highly classified military file on Marley, but the name on the file read 'Molly Golightly/Bia' the name of the project and pretty much everything else on the file was redacted. "That's you."

"No it's not." Marley stated bluntly and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm Marley McKnight."

"You mean," he pulled up a picture of her father's friend, Whitmore McKnight on the screen. "You're related to him?"

Marley's stone cold expression faltered at the sight. It was Whitmore's file with only a few less things redacted on his but she recognized one thing that was terrifyingly familiar.

 _Project Pallas_

 ** _Flashback:_**

 _Tears welled up in Marley's eyes as she stared at the corpses laying in their caskets. It was a large gathering for those grieving for lost loved ones, found and not, located at a local funeral home. A large mahogany casket held the body of her father, Officer Lionel Golightly and next to his were several over caskets holding her friends. She listened to the quiet hum of the piano playing somewhere else in the building, it was light and sad, she couldn't place the song, but it brought a sort of peace to her as she stared hopelessly at the mahogany box._

 _'At least it wasn't a bullet' she could hear her father telling her in the back of her mind. She closed her eyes and let the tears cascade down her cheeks, mucking up any sort of make up she tried to put on that morning._

 _The sound of a man clearing their throat pulled her from her thoughts. She opened her eyes, but didn't move to look at whoever it was._

 _She didn't want to see anyone._

 _She wanted to be alone._

 _She was alone._

 _She just wanted her father to pop out of the casket claiming it was a stupid joke. She wished it were all a joke…_

 _"Molly."_

 _Marley sniffed and rubbed her wet cheeks with a hand, smearing her eyeliner, "What…"_

 _Whitmore McKnight approached her cautiously. His suit didn't have a flaw on it. It was clean, pressed, unscathed, and not a stitch out of place._

 _He held out a box to her. In it was a metal of honor for her father's service._

 _Seeing the piece of metal made Marley scoff, "A metal?"_

 _She took the box from him, "That's it? For getting shot by a robot and_ _ **a building dropped on his head**_ _?" she dropped the metal to the floor and gritted her teeth as she began to sob._

 _"Molly you need to know something," Whitmore knelt down and grasped her by her shoulders in an attempt to bring her back to her senses. "We need to talk about your father."_

 _"He's fucking_ _ **dead**_ _, Whitmore," Marley spat. "What else do we need to talk about?"_

 _"Project Pallas," he said in a harsh whisper. "Your father was a super soldier, Molly. And you might be next."_

 _Marley narrowed her eyes and looked up at Whitmore._

 _"Might be?"_

 _"There is no time to explain," he pulled her close and whispered into her ear. "You have a choice to make. Be free or be a part of something much much bigger."_

 ** _End flashback…_**

Marley met Stark's gaze, "I was his niece."

"Was?"

"He died in action." She told him and found her way around the kitchen counter for a glass of water.

"Not according to this traffic camera footage caught yesterday in Amsterdam," Tony pulled up the security footage showing the very same man she once called uncle walking, in perfect shape, walking his way down a street with a group of guards with him. "He looks very much alive to me."

Marley stared at the video in shock. _He was supposed to be dead. I saw him die. I saw it._

 _…Didn't I?_

She thought back to that day she escaped the trenches and when Whitmore told her to get to a helicopter. She had made it, but she saw him go back. The helicopter took off without him and the base exploded. No survivors.

Did he manage to escape some how?

Marley tried collecting her thoughts as she gripped the glassware. As the picture of her father's friend reeled in her head, she looked back at Stark with a very serious and terrified stare, " _Who are you looking for?"_

"Classified, much like," he scrolled through her documents with great interest. "most of you files. Why is that, exactly? I've tried every decryption, every hack I know of and nothing breaks your code. The only thing available is that you were Molly Golightly and called 'Bia the Warrior'."

Marley, having felt defeat at the hands of the billionaire, slumped down in a chair in her living room with her glass of water.

"No one was supposed to find out about it." She admitted and sunk lower into the chair. It was moments like these that she really craved a beer. "Everything was put down at the Titan, the name of the base, but it was destroyed, all of it. The base self-destructed during an attack in the middle of the night. Whitmore got me out before anything-"

 _Knock knock knock._

Marley and Stark stood stalk still as they both turned their attention to the front door.

"Were you expecting any guests tonight?" Tony asked her in a hushed whisper.

"No," she glanced at him. "Were you?"

Tony squinted at Marley and sneered good-naturedly.

"Then I think we have a problem."


	8. Chapter 8

The quick hard knocking at Marley's door continued, annoying both Tony and Marley at the impatient person.

"You need to go," Marley pointed a finger at the billionaire then to the fire escape window. "Now."

"Fine." Tony said and raised his hands in defeat. "I haven't climbed out a window since I was a young boy, so you're lucky I've been eyeing it since I got here."

Marley scowled at him as he retreated to the window. Once he was out of sight, Marley sucked in a deep breath and opened the front door.

"Peter?"

Standing before her was her half naked nerdy little high school neighbor... holding a wooden baseball bat.

"I heard you in trouble!" The boy's eyes were wide with panic and fear, wearing Avengers themed pajama pants and no shirt. It was hard for her to not notice the spontaneous extreme fit body of her originally scrawny and slim neighbor.

"I'm not in trouble, Peter." Marley told him and rubbed her under eye with her knuckle, pretending like she had just woken up from sleep. She then took notice of his weapon of choice, "A baseball bat? I didn't know you owned one."

"Huh?" Peter almost forgotten he had it. And sheepishly added, "Oh right.. it's Aunt May's."

Marley smirked and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Anyways, sorry for waking you." The high schooler returned to his apartment.

Marley waved the kid good night then a strange realization came to her, "Hey, Pete-" but the boy was gone.

How did he know I was in trouble?


End file.
